After almost four decades, the Seattle Seahawks have brought home the Vince Lombardi Trophy, winning Super Bowl XLVIII by a score of forty-three to eight to capture their first title and only the fourth pro title in Seattle sports history. (The Sonics won it all in 1979; the Storm did the same in 2004 and 2010).

The Seahawks, representing the NFC, completely dominated the AFC champion Denver Broncos on offense, defense, and special teams. Up until late in the third quarter, Seattle had a shutout going. At that point, the Broncos finally managed to score a touchdown and tack on additional points with a two-point conversion.

It would be the only time Denver would score.

Seattle took an incredibly early lead twelve seconds in thanks to a botched snap in the first quarter, which resulted in a safety. Seattle followed up with a field goal, and then another. After that, the Seahawks simply went for the endzone.

Helped by turnovers forced by the defense, they scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, two more in the third, and for good measure, one in the fourth too.

Each touchdown was scored by a different Seahawk. Marshawn Lynch was in the endzone first on a one yard run. Linebacker Malcolm Smith returned an interception for a touchdown only minutes later. The third quarter began with Percy Harvin returning Denver’s kickoff eighty-seven yards for a touchdown. Jermaine Kearse later caught a twenty-three yard pass from Russell Wilson, and in the fourth quarter, Doug Baldwin caught a ten yard pass from Wilson to complete the rout.

When it was over, blue and green confetti rained over MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford like snow flurries at Paradise, Mount Rainier. Seahawks players celebrated on the field and in the locker room, accompanied by musicians Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who won four Grammys for their work last Sunday.

Meanwhile, fans back home rushed out on the streets to share their euphoria with neighbors. Big crowds flooded Pioneer Square and intersections on Capitol Hill. In the University District, couches and mattresses were set on fire, and the Seattle Fire Department had to be called in to put the fire out when the flames got too high.

The City of Seattle announced that a welcome home Victory Celebration Parade would be held on Wednesday morning at 11 AM. The parade will go down 4th Avenue, beginning at Denny Way, and end at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks most recently defeated their division rival San Francisco 49ers.

“What a great day for the Seahawks and a great day for Seattle,” said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, who was in New Jersey attending the game, along with Governor Jay Inslee. “This is the first NFL Championship for the team and a great achievement for the franchise,” Murray noted. “My congratulations go to the players, coaches and to the fans who all contributed to win this title. Now the city will prepare to celebrate in the way that only Seattle knows how.”

The city is encouraging fans to act “conscientiously” and behave responsibly in the wake of the victory, so as not to detract from the Seahawks’ title.

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell issued a statement congratulating the team.

“Congratulations to Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks on bringing the Pacific Northwest its first Lombardi Trophy! And congratulations to the best fans in the NFL. Tonight, the 12th Man took over East Rutherford and made it feel like SoDo.”

“Tonight’s victory is a credit to the Seahawks stifling ‘Legion of Boom’ defense, and to the offense led by Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch,” Cantwell added. “The 2013 Seahawks truly prove that teamwork wins championships. This Super Bowl victory is a defining moment in Northwest sports history.”

The victory celebration has just begun and shows no sign of abating. As former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck tweeted, everybody in Seattle deserves a day off. That won’t happen, but undoubtedly workplaces around the region will be in high spirits tomorrow as the Pacific Northwest revels in the glory of the Seahawks’ first ever Super Bowl win, a truly well-deserved and well-earned triumph.

This entry was written by Andrew and posted on February 2nd, 2014 at 10:30 PM. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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The Cascadia Advocate is authored by the staff, board, and contributors of the Northwest Progressive Institute, a netroots powered strategy center working to raise America's quality of life through innovative research and imaginative advocacy.